Beyond our First
by MiniLavenderMoon
Summary: A sequel to 'The Brawl to End All Brawls'. Set during SSB4. Snarth, eventual Robin/Marth. Snake's absence from the new Smash season is unbearable to accept. Especially for Marth. Robin's presence is comforting, but then surprises arise in the form of new enemies, new adventures-and a new Snake? Will contain MGSV and other FE: Awakening characters.
1. Chapter 1

Fandom: Super Smash Bros. Has mentions of Brawl, but is set during SSB4.  
Ship: Marth/Solid Snake **(yaoi warning)**  
Rating: K

* * *

In the blink of an eye, his dream ended.

His perfect state of mind, where only euphoria and disbelief painted the world, disappeared. And in its place came the chilling presence of emptiness. A wave so tremendous it filled his soul, but at the same time, relieved him of everything that had ever made him whole. Suspended in mid-air, trapped in between the world he longed for and the present, Marth couldn't even feel human. He was something else entirely; an organism that lived only off of the blackness flowing through him. The searing, relentless pain that reminded him of how empty he was, whenever the day kissed the horizon.

The state of perfection was gone. There were no more smiles, nor was there the sound of laughter. The familiar glimmer of treasured eyes had fled, leaving darkness in its place. The Seers of his kingdom called it 'being stripped of the Soulbond'. A feeling so crippling, it ground mortal souls into dust. Marth certainly felt as if the gods had sent a hand to crush him. They did their job and left behind nothing but ash.

It was wonder he was even still able to draw breath.

The one on the other end of his Soulbond was the only one he'd ever love: Solid Snake. _David._ The Altean sovereign met the mercenary during the Brawl season. There were a few rocky, explosive episodes, but nothing the power of light couldn't handle. Marth knew he had been born to love Snake the moment they met, and while the other half of his heart constantly doubted the integrity of their bond, the prince fought for it. Believed in it, just as much as the mercenary cherished it. Snake did everything in his power to discourage the blue-haired beauty from loving him, even though they fit naturally. The way the moon fit the sky.

Marth held fast, unwilling to let him go, even if the gods commanded it. But even with his greatest efforts to hold on, the Soulbond, the precious bond between them, was killed.

Princess Peach, Princess Zelda and the other Smashers were smitten with the two of them. The entire Mushroom Kingdom celebrated them as though they were locked in an eternal wedding ceremony, a celebration filled with light, love and song. The Smash Manor maidens already doted over Snake as if he were their own son. Loving the kind-hearted, noble Marth came naturally. Not only for the maidens, but for the other Smashers as well.

The end of the Brawl season led to their goodbye.

The prince knew their time together would eventually come to an end. And in Princess Peach's gardens, they said their goodbyes. Smiling, Marth turned his goodbye into a promise.

_"Come now. What is all of this about? Surely we'll meet again! Let this be not the end, but the beginning of something new. Something even greater...than what we've shared here."_

Returning the blue-haired prince's smile, Snake agreed. He took his boyfriend's hand and kissed it, eyes glistening with something deep, beautiful, warm. Unbreakable.

_"Sure, babe."_

Marth had no idea that would be the last time he'd see Snake alive.

Shortly after the prince's return to the Altean kingdom, he realized there was something different about him. He felt as if his soul had physically become one with another. Cleansing, holy waters had coursed into him and filled him so much, he was ready to burst.

That feeling was none other than the Soulbond.

One of the prince's Mages instructed him on the art of the Soulbond.

"Once you've formed that special, intimate connection to another living creature, you're bound to them even beyond time. The bond between you creates eternal fulfillment. A sensation that cannot truly be put into words. A Soulbond can only be broken through death; not through conflict, no matter how great."

Marth's Soulbond was broken the moment Snake was killed.

* * *

His eyes fluttered open.

With his return to Jigglypuff's Infirmary, recent events returned as well. Tears had pulled the young sovereign into unconsciousness, summoned by the kind words of two friends. One was an old friend, someone he had known since the beginning of Brawl, while the other was new. A young man he had just met several days prior, but one that had already left a huge impression on his heart.

Ike and Robin.

Every Smasher was beside him before he closed his eyes. Each and every face was wreathed in worry, including Bowser's. They all knew. They knew _everything._

Everything Marth wanted to deny.

Chrom's tactician had his head resting on Ike's shoulder. Unwittingly, of course. Marth couldn't suppress a smile; Robin was as warm as a Pikachu, but made himself out to be as cold as a Charizard. Both he and Ike were asleep. Swordsman and tactician had volunteered to stay behind, making sure their prince would have _someone_ to wake up to.

Marth couldn't stop smiling through the tears that ran down his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

_Fun Fact: Once upon a time, while writing a very old Roy/Marth story, I gave Marth a British accent. That headcanon stuck-I still write Marth with a British accent in mind. Don't ask me why. It just happened. LOL._

* * *

"Ugh, in the name of the Gods-"

Robin's usual curse whenever things went South, 'ugh' and all. If anyone had been keep tracking, they would have noticed him using it at least fifty times an hour, what with all of the Jigglypuffs running amuck in ballerina tutus. Not to mention Luigi, clad in his doctor's smock, chasing after a shrieking Donkey Kong. Things constantly went haywire around Peach and Rosalina's Smash Manor, but someone had one up over Luigi, Donkey Kong, Sonic, the whole gang. As crazy as that was, someone aggravated him far more than Slippy Toad. Imagine that.

That someone was none other than the Grand Prince of Altea, Marth Lowell.

"Why can't he ever sit still? Is that too much to ask?" Chrom's Tactician groaned, storming his way through the garden of singing Jigglypuff and prancing Pikachus. The young man had been there long enough to know just how crazy a season of Smash ran, complete with Bowser almost burning down the Manor's kitchen just by preparing toast. Robin wasn't about to admit it out loud, but the off-the-wall craziness was growing on him. Quickly. It stirred up memories of the battlefront, where he shared precious memories that were just as crazy with the members of Chrom's army. So not much to complain about when it came to the others, except when Yoshi saw fit to fly right into him. For whatever reason. Robin groaned a lot, but in the end-

The only one that made him say 'in the name of the gods' a lot was Marth.

Marth. The Regal Prince was just in Clefairy and Jigglypuff's Infirmary, sleeping for gods' sakes! Roy's old friend had cried himself to sleep, rocked into slumber by the presence of many friends (Robin included), and he had the nerve to disappear? Where? Why? Just so he could be found weeping on his own again?

'_Admit it, Robin. You're nothing but a softie. Stop pretending to be something you aren't.'_

"You're one to talk," the Tactician muttered under his breath, remembering the words muttered to him by Marth's fellow swordsman Ike. Ducking underneath a beam of soaring Luma (don't ask, nothing about the Smash Manor has a logical explanation), Robin rolled his eyes and stepped onto grounds beyond manor walls. The moment warm, fresh, sun-kissed air danced into his lungs was the moment his ears pricked up. The sounds of Spring had struck him, coming from the very one he had been searching for.

"Ah. Lady Rosalina's gardens. Of course."

Not at all attempting to suppress a small smile, Robin followed the airborne Spring sonata, searching for its keeper. The voice was frail, but the light buried within its words was strong. Much stronger than the darkness he had been forced to face, on far too many occasions, against the very ones he swore allegiance to. Burying daggers of the past, grimacing against reconstructed visuals of dark isolation, the young man with dirty blonde hair continued on his path deeper into Rosalina's star-kissed gardens.

Where else would Marth go? He wasn't anything but a romantic.

"Intuition is still on my side," the Tactician remarked to himself, the closer he grew to the singing sovereign. Watching as the sun kissed the trees, birds, Pokemon and the Prince himself, Robin found himself at a loss-how was it possible for such beauty to exist? How was it possible for a human, especially one lost in such torment, to glow with such effervescent magnificence? Was it even safe to say Marth was real, or was the Prince a figment of everyone's imagination?

Robin remained in the distance, watching as the Altean Prince bathed the gardens in song. Was it wise to disturb him? Wouldn't he frighten Marth by even uttering a single syllable? He was a gentle creature, easily broken, broken too many times already by losing someone he devoted himself to, body, heart and soul. Someone he swore to spend the rest of his life loving.

But then he remembered. And cleared his throat.

"Your Highness, I'm glad you've found something to lift your spirits, but if you needed to leave I wish you would've said something."

"I bore no wish to wake you," the radiant Prince replied, recovering from a moment of shock with the warmest smile. A smile warm enough to put the beauty of the heavens to shame.

"You and my other companions were so peaceful, I could not disturb you in good conscience."

Robin groaned, hand slapped against his forehead. "Yeah, well, we were all there because we were disturbed by you crying yourself into the darkest abyss of despair. How's that?"

Marth's voice, despite being lost in a vortex of tears, "Where's Ike, if I may ask?" he asked, as a Pidgeot perched itself on his shoulder. The Altean Prince stroked the underbelly of the Pokemon's chin with that very same smile, compelling the bird to sing along with the rest of the garden.

Pretty sight, Marth's smile being the prettiest treasure of all, but it changed nothing. Robin would have his revenge, come Hell or high water. "For your information, dear Prince," the Tactician snarled, indignant, voice tone letting Marth know he was anything but dear at the moment. "You left Ike at your bedside. He urged me to leave you alone, but I wasn't too keen on letting you go right back to where we found you!"

"There, there, beloved one. I bet you're quite hungry. Would you care for luncheon?"

Robin took a few deep breaths, and then some more. Marth was going through a nightmare no one should ever have to endure-losing a loved one. Snake. Solid Snake. Snake had just been killed in battle, leaving the Altean Prince without his soulmate. Robin knew, knew eternal love could be borne and lost within a heartbeat, all snatched by the breath of death but-

"High Prince Altea, for once in your life, would you stop being so…I don't know. For the lack of a better term, high maintenance?! We're all worried about you!"

The Prince's laugh reminded Robin of a morning bell, one he heard long ago. "You being worried most of all, from where I'm standing."

"Unbelievable," Robin groaned, but kept the rest of his thoughts buried (while Marth continued petting and talking to Pidgeot).

_How can he be heartbroken beyond measure but so maddeningly radiant?!_

Marth, still stroking the Pokemon's chin (while submerged in rays of sunshine), spoke in a voice softer than a lake's surface. "I am aware of your concern," the young swordsman chuckled, happiness taking the hand of overbearing sadness. Robin made no attempt to conceal distress-the Prince was slipping back into a state of sadness, agonizing loss.

Not the direction he wanted Marth to take.

"I am aware of your compassion. Your kindness. I am also aware of the resemblance between you and one of my oldest advisors."

"Please don't call me old, Your Highness," Robin muttered, half cringing at the assault on his age, half wanting to steer Marth completely away from the abyss with banter.

The attempt to cleanse the air failed, as noted by the angry Pidgeot glaring at the Tactician.

"I apologize, but you see…your drive to remain by my side brings up a lot of good memories. You claim your actions are merely the result of a contract I cannot see, but…there is a heart beneath that rigid sense of duty, one that burns bright with conviction and virtue. A heart I am all too familiar with. Are you not meant to be beside Lord Chrom?"

"Well, uh," Thrown off his game. Crimson flame struck Robin's cheeks and darkened upon hearing the Pidgeot's giggles. "Chrom's…well, he's kinda playing-"

Marth eyed him with a spark of magic in eyes overwhelmed with grief. "Playing? Is that how you refer to your Lord's activities?"

"You misunderstand me, Sire. Chrom's…well, he's grown kinda fond of the Pokemon Center, and-"

"Never mind," Marth cut him off, filling the morning air with even more sunny, musical laughter. "I need to hear no more. And I assume you bear no wish to accompany him on his…daily ventures?"

"Why would I?" Robin growled, eyeballing the glaring Pidgeot with daggers of his own. "Not too many Pokemon take kindly to me. Take your friend, for example."

"Come now. Surely it's because you have carved a false picture for all the world to see. I, however, can see quite clearly."

Robin gazed at the odd, smiling, sad creature with wide eyes, alarmed by how such a kind, radiant human could even exist. In any world. Chrom's Tactician found himself at a loss, unable to untangle the mystery that made up Marth, the fervent breath of life that gave birth to surreal daybreak-

-but he was able to find himself protecting the Prince by tackling him to the ground, his own body creating a shield over Marth's. Meanwhile, the Pidgeot leapt from Marth's shoulders and began screeching-

While the sky was submerged in a void of blinding white light.

"Stay down, Sire, I've got you!"


End file.
